Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that CVS Pharmacy was
ordered to pay $77.6 million in fines and returned profits in a
case alleging improper control in the sale of an ingredient use
to make mathamphetamine.

The US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, California said the
largest US operator of retail pharmacies repeatedly failed to
properly monitor sales of pseudophedrine, a common ingredient
in cold medications which is also used to make meth. By
failing to monitor sales of the drug, CVS allowed traffickers
of methamphetamine in Southern California and the Las Vegas
area to acquire “large amounts” of pseudophedrine, prosecutors
said, adding that the sales led to a significant rise in the
production of methamphetamine in the area.

Prosecutors said that the pharmacy will pay a fine of $75
million, the largest civil penalty ever levied under the
Controlled Substances Act. The company will also be
required to surrender $2.6 million in profits they received
from the improperly monitored transactions.

"This case shows what happens when companies fail to follow
their ethical and legal responsibilities," U.S. Attorney Andre
Birotte Jr. said. "CVS knew it had a duty to
prevent methamphetamine trafficking, but it failed to take
steps to control the sale of a regulated drug used by
methamphetamine cooks as an essential ingredient for their
poisonous stew."

Criminal charges will not be brought against the company
because it admitted to the charges and has agreed to enter a
compliance agreement with the government. CVS has said it
will continue to cooperate with federal prosecutors with
regards to the case.

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